'You do not need to believe in a Higher Being or a God to enter the kingdom of heaven...believe in yourselves and you shall find your kingdom...a kingdom of eternal love, compassion and consciousness...'

'The precepts of religion that were so helpful in the beginning may become obstacles as you proceed ever deeper into the heart of heresy...To enter into the ultimate truth, you need to leave your horse behind and walk alone into the uncharted territory of the soul. There you may find that you need to behave in ways that would have been unthinkable when you were closely following the formulas and rules of behaviour prescribed by the religion into which you were born...How strange that your personal path to God often seems to be blocked or criticised by the priests of religion...Do you dare break free of the confining rules? Do you dare to follow your own truth, even it starts leading you astray from the path of your religion? What if this breaking free is the only way that you can really understand the truth of your religion? Can you follow the inner impulse...?' (‘The Forbidden Rumi’)

Followers of Compassion and Love

'Do not believe in anything (simply) because you have heard it. Do not believe in traditions because they have been handed down for many generations. Do not believe in anything because it is spoken and rumoured by many. Do not believe in anything (simply) because it is found written in your religious books. Do not believe in anything merely on the authority of your teachers and elders. But after observation and analysis, when you find anything that agrees with reason and is conducive to the good and benefit of one and all, then accept it and live up to it.' (Buddha, Kalama Sutta)

'Who recognises his limitations is healthy;Who ignores his limitations is sick;The sage recognises this sickness as a limitation;And so becomes immune.'(Tao Te Ching)

Monday, 14 July 2014

Rumi 290: 'Football'

(Adelén Rusillo Steen Børve, known as Adelén, is a Norwegian pop singer.)

'Football is a simple game. Twenty-two men chase a ball for 90 minutes and at the end, the Germans always win.'(Garry Lineker)

'How strange it is that football can act as a unifying force for good and constructive change, compared to organised religion...'(Cyrus Rumi)